Prayers of the Faithful
by Bookwrm17
Summary: I. Durring Dean's final days, Sam prays for a miracle. II. Instead of begging for mercy, the girl turns to God. III. He had seen "angels" before, and he was unimpressed. A tale of faith and justice.


**Prayers of the Faithful**

**(I)**

**In the name of the Father**

After almost a year of grasping at straws, chasing down every lead no matter how unlikely, killing demon after demon in an attempt to find the one holding Dean's contract, Sam was no closer to saving his brother from the pit than he had ever been. Ruby had been of no help, and he might have killed her for lying to him if she hadn't saved them from Lilith on more than one occasion and he weren't too busy searching for another answer. The final days before Dean's deal came due were spent desperately checking and re-checking his research, looking for any detail he might have missed and praying for a miracle.

_Hail Mary, full of grace,_

_The Lord is with thee,_

Much to his surprise, he got one. It came in the form of a last-minute tip from Ruby; an obscure, ancient summoning ritual; and a carefully placed bullet between the eyes of a demon he'd never heard of before and never wanted to again. That was it. Dean was saved. It was almost beautiful in its simplicity.

_Blessed art thou among women,_

_And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus._

The boys spend Dean's first few days of freedom celebrating, mostly by going to bars and getting drunk, but after a while Sam is just so tired that he can't keep up with his brother any more. After all, he has hardly closed his eyes for weeks, and he has just pulled Dean back from the brink of Hell. He's earned a little rest. So that night, Dean goes out alone, and Sam stays in the motel room, looking forward to a good night's sleep.

It's the last one he'll ever have.

_Holy Mary, mother of God,_

The next morning, Dean has yet to return, but Sam is unconcerned. He can think of any number of reasons for Dean to still be out, most of them involving the fairer sex. But as the hours go by and morning becomes afternoon, there is still no word from his brother. Sam starts to worry. He checks all the places Dean could possibly have gone, telling himself that he's being paranoid, that Dean is _safe_ now.

Then he sees the crowd and the police tape in front of the gas station, and there is the Impala, parked next to the pump. He doesn't remember asking what had happened, but he must have, because some one is telling him. He hears the words _shooting_ and _unidentified victim_, and he knows even before he sees the body.

_Pray for us sinners,_

After that day, Sam falls off the map. He stops hunting, speaks to no one, and eventually finds a way to disappear so completely that even Ruby can't find him. For almost three years, Sam Winchester does not exist.

When he returns, it is with an army whose ranks are filled with the souls of the people he has slaughtered, their numbers growing every day. Hunters and demons alike try to stop him, but he kills them indiscriminately. In the lowest circle of Hell, they quake in terror at his name.

_Now and at the hour of our death._

The Boy King has claimed his throne at last.

**(II)**

**And of the Son**

She knew he was going to kill her. He had, after all, just killed all of her friends. Slowly. One by one. She was the last one left. And yet, instead of begging for mercy which would not be forthcoming, as most of his victims did, the girl was on her knees _praying_. How touching.

_Our Father, who art in Heaven,_

_Hallowed be Thy name,_

Sam was the only one around to hear her, of course. She was facing away from him, but her words were steady and clear. If he weren't so experienced in such things, he would never have noticed the hint of fear in her voice.

_Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,_

_On earth as it is in Heaven,_

He walked around so that he stood in front of her. She glanced up at him briefly, and it made him smile to see the terror in her eyes. She paused for a moment, perhaps waiting for him to strike her down, but when he merely continued to look at her she directed her gaze downwards and resumed her prayers, voice steady as ever.

_And give us this day our daily bread,_

_And forgive us our trespasses,_

_As we forgive those who trespass against us,_

It was almost pathetic how blindly she put her faith in a deity that had not stopped him from killing her friends or countless others and would not stop him from killing her. Forgiveness was the hope of the ignorant and the desperate, people who needed so badly to believe that they could somehow escape the darkness that pervaded all humankind. The poor girl would be quite disappointed when she realized that God was not going to save her from her fate.

_And lead us not into temptation,_

This had been amusing at first, but really, enough was enough. It was beginning to grate on his nerves.

_But deliver us from evil…_

She was dead before she could say Amen.

**(III)**

**And of the Holy Spirit**

The girl was missing, unaccounted for. Among the wraiths that made up his army, the miserable wretches that had once been human beings, there were the new additions of her friends, still frightened and confused at their condition, but soon to fall into line with the others. Yet he was one soul short.

_Glory be to the Father,_

He couldn't for the life of him imagine why. What could possibly have become of the girl after her death? Yet as he began to mentally review the last several months of carnage and take stock of his legions, he began to notice other discrepancies. There were gaps. If his calculations were correct, his army should be much larger by now. Sam was not one to miscalculate.

_And to the Son,_

It was as he was contemplating this mystery that he encountered the Archangel. The wraiths recoiled as if in pain from his radiance, and even Sam found that he was blinded temporarily. But he had seen "angels" before, and he was not impressed by this light show.

It was not until he regained his sight fully that he noticed the other luminescent figures. There was the missing girl, and behind her, all of his other unaccounted for victims. But at the forefront stood those whom Sam had not thought of in years, their eyes disappointed and accusing. His parents. Jessica. And Dean.

_And to the Holy Spirit,_

Dean, who had been gunned down by a desperate man merely days after his salvation. Dean, who was supposed to have prevented him from becoming who he was now. Dean, whose death had been the final straw. Sam should not have been able to look him in the eye. Perhaps, if he had not torn his conscience to pieces in order to lead an army of the damned, he would not have been able to do it.

But he was beyond remorse now.

_As it was in the beginning,_

_Is now and ever shall be,_

"They never died, Samuel. It is you who have perished."

These are the words spoken by Saint Michael as the armies of Light and Dark clash around them. Sam, who fights the Archangel himself, pays them no heed. Perhaps he made the wrong decision, perhaps he gave up too soon. Perhaps the overwhelming darkness he saw in the world had merely been within him all along. None of that matters any more. He has chosen his fate.

He feels nothing as he is struck down by the fiery sword of God.

_World without end._

**Amen**


End file.
